No action initiated to cancel Axis Bank’s license: RBI

Mumbai, (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India on Monday clarified that it had not initiated any action against Axis Bank for cancellation of its license, as held by some media reports, in wake of some officials found to be involved in violative activities post-demonetisation.

“The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has not initiated any action to cancel the banking licence of Axis Bank in the wake of certain allegations about some serious irregularities in transactions relating to deposit/exchange of specified bank notes in a few branches of the bank,” the central bank said in a statement here.

The RBI’s clarification came after a regional newspaper published that the bank was likely to lose its banking licence. According to the media report, the government was considering cancelling its license after 19 of its officials were found carrying out violative activities.

Earlier, Axis Bank also said the reports alleging that regulatory action against the bank was under consideration, were false and malafide.

“We would like to bring to your attention, the false and malafide news published in a regional newspaper alleging consideration of regulatory action against the bank,” Axis Bank said in a BSE filing.

“In this connection, we strongly deny the contents of the said article and we reiterate that the bank has strong systems and controls as per the norms prescribed by the RBI,” the filing said.

The news is intended to spread panic amongst the general public, demoralise the staff and damage the reputation of the bank, it said.

Assuring its customers, investors and public, the bank said that it has a strong code of conduct and zero tolerance to any deviations from prescribed processes.

“We are committed to adhering to the highest standards of governance in all aspects of our business and to provide the best services to our valued customers,” it said.